New mosque opens in Australian town as Muslim community grows

SYDNEY, Australia (MNTV) — One of regional Australia’s largest mosques has opened in Young, a cherry-growing town in the Riverina district of New South Wales, ABC News reported.

Muslims made up 4.4 percent of the town’s population of 11,000 at the last census, a share the local mayor said has likely since grown to around 10 percent. 

The new mosque holds up to 1,000 worshippers, nearly five times the capacity of the makeshift facility established in the 1990s that it replaces. Community leaders hope it marks a positive step after recent negative headlines cast what one called a “dark shadow” over the community.

Long-time worshipper Abdul Ghoneim said the old mosque had been full for Friday prayers, with people praying outside. 

Gamel Kheir of the Australian Lebanese Muslim Association, which owns the mosque, said the community was “growing at an exponential rate,” and framed the expansion as a sign of belonging. 

“We are part of the fabric of multicultural Australia,” he said, “and Young is testimony to the fact that multiculturalism is alive and succeeding.”

Much of Young’s Muslim community is of Lebanese descent, but also includes people from Southeast Asia and Egypt, Kheir said. Hilltops Council mayor Brian Ingram said the mosque and an existing Islamic school had drawn Muslim families to the area, offering something unavailable in many regional parts of the state. 

The mosque is also known for community outreach, delivering free meals across the Hilltops region and hosting open days for people to ask questions about Islam. 

“There’s no taboo questions we are shying away from answering,” Kheir said. “We open our doors to all.”